Chapter 62: Anomaly

At the same time, on a mountain peak hundreds of li away, three figures stood side by side. They were He Shan Dao Ren, Tong Ren E, and Duan Ren Li.

At this moment, without exception, they all gazed into the vast night at a dazzling white light piercing the sky in the distance.

That was precisely the direction of Jiugong Peak.

The three remained silent, and apart from the occasional mountain breeze that gently brushed past, causing their robes to rustle, the area was quiet, the atmosphere somewhat solemn.

After a long while, the silence was broken by one of them.

“Daoist He Shan, is this what you call a foolproof plan? To let this person cultivate safely and greatly enhance his strength?” Duan Ren Li spoke slowly.

“I was not thorough in my considerations. It seems this person has found some method to heal his injuries,” He Shan Dao Ren sighed, somewhat helplessly.

“This matter should not be delayed any longer,” Tong Ren E said coldly.

“Daoist Tong is absolutely right. We were almost ready, and I wanted to deliberate on some minor details, but now we truly cannot wait any longer,” He Shan Dao Ren said, his voice deepening.

“We should have acted long ago,” Duan Ren Li murmured, clenching his fists in his sleeves, a glint of eagerness in his eyes.

… …

The next morning.

In a small green-tiled courtyard hidden in a bamboo grove of purple bamboo at the rear mountain of Shenghuo Peak in the Cold Flame Sect.

Sima Jingming stood with his hands down before a sandalwood table where incense curled upward, looking at a three-foot portrait on the wall, respectfully reporting something.

On the portrait, light shimmered, and a figure appeared, standing in midair, with a square face and bright eyes—it was the Cold Flame Ancestor.

“You mean this Han Li has begun to cultivate the seventh layer of the technique?” the Cold Flame Ancestor asked slowly after a light cough.

“From the description of the celestial phenomenon last night, it is most likely correct. Ancestor, what is this person’s identity? Such a cultivation speed is truly unbelievable…” Sima Jingming affirmed, then hesitated.

“Heh, I don’t know his identity, but I recently learned that this Fellow Daoist Han is being hunted by a massive organization in the immortal realm, with a bounty so generous that even I am tempted. The ever-secluded Jingming Daoist recently set out for Heishui City where Old Ghost Yan resides. In my opinion, the Heavenly Ghost Sect and Jingyuan Temple are likely to stir trouble,” the Cold Flame Ancestor said unhurriedly.

“Then should we…” Sima Jingming started, showing a strange expression.

“Join the schemes of those two sects and take a share?” the Cold Flame Ancestor interrupted directly.

Knowing he had misspoken, Sima Jingming immediately fell silent.

“This Fellow Daoist Han—neither Jingming Daoist nor Old Ghost Yan has dealt with him personally, but I have fought him. This person is no ordinary! From what you said about him mastering the sixth layer of the Little Dipper Star Origin Art, I am even more convinced. Though the benefits are tempting, one must live to enjoy them,” the Cold Flame Ancestor said meaningfully.

“Jingming has learned his lesson,” Sima Jingming replied promptly.

… …

Late at night, atop the Star-Gathering Platform.

Han Li sat cross-legged, his body bathed at the center of a silver vortex formed by seven silver beams of light descending from above.

Vast amounts of star power surged into his body from all directions, tempering his physical form.

He remained motionless, but his mind was divided, contemplating matters.

The cultivation of the Little Dipper Star Origin Art caused astonishing celestial phenomena. The violent star power shattered the protective restrictions that originally covered the Star-Gathering Platform. After the four Jingyuan Temple elders were blasted away, they never reappeared, and He Shan Dao Ren seemed unconcerned, as if he trusted Han Li too much.

That was not unusual in itself, but recently he had clearly sensed that the Jingyuan Temple cultivators within a radius of one to two hundred li around the Star-Gathering Platform seemed to be leaving their caves and not returning.

At first, he thought nothing of it—after all, it was common for sect members to travel or go on missions and not return for long periods. But when this continued for half a month, it gradually caught his attention, and his vigilance increased.

Just now, for some reason, he felt vaguely uneasy, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.

After a brief deliberation, Han Li withdrew part of the divine sense channeling the star power and quickly scanned everything within several hundred li.

At that moment, the entire void above suddenly blurred, and a long, thick white scar silently appeared, as if the sky had been forcibly torn in two—extremely eerie.

Chi chi chi!

Dense silver runes surged out from the white scar, endless and inexhaustible. As soon as they appeared, they spun and exploded into silver halos, dyeing the entire void silver-white.

These silver halos merged, forming a colossal silver moon, immense and dazzling, overshadowing all the stars around.

This all took but an instant. The moment the silver moon formed, the starlight falling from the sky vanished completely.

Seeing this, Han Li without a word flickered his form, instantly leaving the Jiugong Peak area, and in a few flashes, he was twenty or thirty li away.

At that moment, another anomaly occurred!

With a “boom,” a mountain peak several dozen li from Jiugong Peak sent boulders tumbling, revealing a hundred-zhang-wide giant white rune on its surface, from which a thick white beam shot into the sky.

Almost simultaneously, another mountain in a different direction shook violently, emitting a huge green light.

With eight consecutive “rumbling” sounds!

The eight seemingly insignificant peaks within a hundred li of Jiugong Peak all erupted with loud noises, each sending up a giant beam of a different color from a huge rune.

Dense runes of various colors appeared around the beams, rapidly connecting to form a colossal light barrier that enveloped the entire hundred-li area centered on Jiugong Peak.

Countless multicolored runes flowed on the barrier, emitting a strange, sharp “chi chi” sound, and even from afar, one could feel the astonishing spiritual power fluctuations.

Within the barrier, Han Li halted his escape light, his heart sinking.

Though he did not know what Jingyuan Temple was plotting, it seemed they had finally harbored ill intentions toward him.

He scanned his surroundings, a layer of blue light appearing in his pupils, then frowned slightly.

This massive formation was profound and unfathomable, far surpassing the Ghost King Heavenly Pillar Formation of the Heavenly Ghost Sect. With his insight, he could not immediately discern any weaknesses.

Without hesitation, he shot forward and in an instant reached the multicolored light barrier. With a flash of six blue lights at his chest and abdomen, he punched a spot on the barrier with all his might.

A thunderous roar!

The barrier surface trembled, light flickered wildly, and a huge fist imprint appeared, around which dense five-colored runes gathered, slowly repairing the depression at a visible rate.

Before it fully recovered, another “boom” landed on the same spot. The barrier shook violently, as if about to collapse.

Just as Han Li raised his third fist, before he could strike, the giant silver moon in the sky suddenly brightened, emitting ten thousand beams of silver light mixed with countless silver runes, which converged into a colossal beam covering a hundred li.

Han Li saw a flash of silver light before his eyes, and then everything returned to normal, but he inexplicably found himself in a strange world.

It was a vast, desolate Gobi desert. No matter which direction he looked, all was barren, with gray stones of various sizes scattered on the ground, and occasional huge craters as if struck by meteorites.

Thick gray clouds floated low in the sky, seeming ready to press down at any moment, giving a very oppressive feeling.

“Another cave heaven artifact?” Han Li murmured, immediately releasing his divine sense.

But all his divine sense detected was barren ground and deep pits with boulders—nothing else.

After a moment's thought, he focused his divine sense and probed upward into the gray clouds.

However, as soon as his divine sense entered, it felt as if walking through mud, everything hazy and dim. Even with the Soul Refining Art, he could only sense about ten zhang ahead, and the situation was the same.

There was something strange about these gray clouds; even his powerful divine sense could not fully penetrate them.

Han Li's eyes flickered, and he withdrew his divine sense, intending to use other methods to investigate, when the gray clouds above suddenly churned violently and rumbled.

The next moment, yellow beams rained down from the sky, landing on the ground.

Each yellow beam, upon landing, expanded like a balloon, blurred and deformed, and turned into a golden, burly man.

These men were about the size of ordinary people, with golden skin that shimmered faintly, yellow sashes around their waists, and various weapons in their hands, very similar to the legendary Yellow Turban Warriors.

Though they looked like ordinary people, they had no trace of life, their faces expressionless, like puppets.

In less than a moment, nearly a thousand of them had appeared, surrounding Han Li in an impenetrable circle.

This sudden scene left Han Li momentarily stunned.